Tag Archives: tobias mews

“South African trail running pioneer Linda Doke and 2015 Marathon des Sables female champion, Elisabet Barnes placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the ladies’ race. Both ladies summing up their experiences with a similar thought process, “What an incredible privilege it was to spend 5 days running through this magnificent part of the world on the Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun®. Sometimes it takes experiencing places like this to remind us how just how fragile and yet so powerful nature is, and how unbelievably insignificant we are in the bigger scheme of things.” – Linda Doke –

From here, the runners had a short run down stream for a few kilometres before reaching a small section of ‘main’ jeep track that runs past Oom Kobus Jansen’s old farm.

A runnable climb up Jansen’s Aloof follows to the base of Zebra pass, so named for the clear trail created by the Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra – a species of zebra especially adapted to arid and desert environments.

What followed will be one of the most memorable sections of the day and maybe of the race for some, following a wild game trail rollercoaster down Zebra Kloof to meet with the enormous Fish River Canyon.

Once in the canyon, it’s a steady and hard fought battle up the Fish River Canyon to the Wilderness Hot Springs Camp to enjoy a welcome rest in natural hot springs.

Today, Elisabet Barnes found her legs and in her own words said, “I had a great day, I loved it!” Starting in the 2nd to last group, Elisabet caught all the runners before her and held off the top 3 runners of Tobias Mews, Jo Williams and David Kaswari all the way to the line but a slight navigation mishap in the final km allowed David Kaswari to pass her and with a sprint he took the stage victory – Elisabet finished 2nd.

Jo Williams and Tobias Mews finished just behind Elisabet and Tobias commented, “It was a tough day today, we made a few navigational errors and the terrain dictated that we needed to walk certain sections. The course and the route though was just amazing. It was a highlight of the week, it combined the best of the Richtersveld and Fish River Canyon was just amazing… I was sad to finish but I was also glad it was no longer; it was a tough day!”

Ultimately, it was a tough day and a tough day for all. The runners ran into the night and head-torches glowed in the pitch black night as the final runners ran into camp, 12+hours after starting.

Highlights of the day were discussed around camp fires under African skies with plates of hot stew – talk of Zebra, Ostrictch, Kudu and incredible sights. The Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun really did come to life today and as Owen Middleton (race director) said at the pre-race briefing, the opportunity to run and spend time in this wilderness is a complete privilege. It’s not our right to be here but an immense and memorable opportunity. It’s one the runners will not forget!

Overall, although not yet confirmed, the top 3 ladies and top 3 men positions will not have changed.

Tomorrow is the final day and at 36km, it will be a welcome shorter day but it has 3 climbs and a 300m technical descent to the finish at AI-AIS HOT SPRINGS RESORT.

Golden light illuminated the ‘Springbok Flats’ and moody blue clouds provided a stunning contrast to the opening miles of day 3 of the 2016 Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun.

It was a stunning start to the day. As the runners progressed across the flats, they were spotlit as they worked their way to one of the key highlights not only of the day but the whole Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun – the Tattasberg Boulders.

Huge balls of rock, some the size of houses, leave an impression on the mind and eyes. Following a line of markers (the only section of the race to be marked for safety reasons) the runners weaved a route up, over and around the huge marbles of stone and at the top they then worked their way down to the valley and a downhill run to the Orange River. Across the water, Namibia and stage 4 of the race.

But first, 10km’s of sandy trails would lead in to camp and the stunning setting on the banks of the river.

As per day 2, the race had several start times, the first starting 1hour earlier than day 2 – 0700, 0730, 0800 and 0830.

David Kaswarie, Tobias Mews and Jo Williams dictated the earlier pace to cp1 and then David pulled away and opened up a gap. At one point he had gained 15 minutes but after the Tattasberg boulders, the flat running allowed Tobias and Jo to close the gap to 10 minutes at the Orange River and below 5 minutes at the finish line. David finished in 4:08 and Tobias and Jo 4:10. David must really be kicking himself with his error on day 1, he would now be leading the race…

Elisabet Barnes found her legs today and after the run she said, “I had a great day today, I was worried about the boulders but I loved the section and once we got into the final 15km i could run, I love to run and it was great to open up my stride and gain some time!”

Linda Doke by contrast had a less successful day, “There was too much running today, I prefer the more technical stuff.” Linda lost time to Elisabet Barnes but her 2nd place is still secure.

In the men’s race, Tobias Mews still holds a convincing lead as does Jo Williams in the ladies race.

Tomorrow, the runners go ‘transfrontier’ and cross into Namibia and the Fish River Canyon.

The silence was deafening. The darkness was black, oh so black and the stars glowed in abundance in the sky. It was the first morning of the 2016 Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun and anticipation was high.

There was a high level of anticipation, nerves and worry – particularly in regard to the route and the provided GPX files that had been uploaded to GPS units, or not, as was the case in some scenarios.

Buttons were being pressed, beeps could be heard and chins were being rubbed as rapid navigation 101 was undertaken just 30-minutes before the 0800 start.

Suddenly they were off and what followed was a stunning warm and sunny day in the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.

At the first control point, backed by an amphitheater of rock, it was soon apparent that despite a gps route, many runners were using navigation knowledge to cover ground as quickly as possible. The rule of the race confirms that between controls, the gpx route is a guide and that providing access to the control is from the correct direction, then a free route choice was allowed.

Tobias Mews and Jo Williams were the first to arrive at the first control but not via the direction the gps route indicated – was this a tactactical navigation move to gain time?

It looked like it as Linda Doke and Stephen Cunliffe arrived via the same route option. Slowly but surely runners arrived but a lack of Elisabet Barnes raised a few alarm bells. Elisabet arrived approximately 30-minutes later have followed the gps route, mark-by-mark. The 2015 Marathon des Sables champion was now on the back foot with a tough chase on her hands.

At control 2, Linda Doke and Stephen Cunliffe arrived and then a string of runners

and then Tobias Mews and Jo Williams – it was a little confusing, how had so many other runners gained so much time and what had been the leading duo?

Tobias Mews explained post race, “We made a navigational error and had to backtrack obviously loosing time and allowing Linda and Stephen to take the lead, however, we were surprised to then find other runners infront of us when we chased – we later found out that these runners had missed control one!”

The savvy navigational shortcut early in the race had unfortunately caused a problem for 5 competitors and due to missing the control, a 1-hour time penalty was applied.

What followed was a strong effort by Tobias and Jo, they reeled in the other runners, pursued Linda and Stephen and then pushed on. It was a brave move so early in a five stage race however it payed off.

Jo Williams and Dawid Kaswarie finally made a break from Tobias and Stephen and they crossed the line joint first in 4:27:43, only for Dawid Kaswarie to loose all his hard work with a time penalty. Stephen Cunliffe and Tobias Mews ran together to finish joint 2nd in 4:46:49 and Linda Doke finished 3rd in 5:00:42.

Way back in the race, ladies pre-race favourite was having a bad day – she had taken a tumble and was running with open wounds to her left knee and unfortunately another minor navigation error resulted in some additional lost time. Something was right though, Elisabet fell a further four times and once back in camp she relayed her story, “I saw Tobias and others taken an alternative route and I decided to follow the gps route as I was under the impression that was the correct thing to do. I lost time and sometimes you just have to accept that these things happen. However, I was feeling light-headed, lacking focus and after falling once, I fell a further three times. I feel a little banged up – it was a tough day!”

Elisabet was not the only runner to make errors with navigation, in nearly all cases it was the error of the runner to solely rely on the gps as a form of navigation and not use the provided map as a reference and counter reference. For some it was a tough lesson.

Day 1 at any multi-stage race can be a tough one and here in the Richtersveld, the 2016 Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun has provided a greater test than some expected.

Despite difficulties, the unanimous decision about the route and the scenery has been glowing – “This is like running in heaven,” said

The sands of the Sahara lured me away from the Iznik Ultra this year. A real shame as this race has been a fixture on my calendar all the way back to the 2012 edition when I won the 60km race. Iznik and Turkey are special places and the Iznik Ultra provides a wonderful opportunity to combine running and sightseeing.

The people are magical, the calm tranquility of the lake Iznik is sublime, the surrounding mountains are impressive and the combination of great food, hospitality and a committed and dedicated race team headed by race director Caner, make this experience a ‘must’ for the enthusiastic runner.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, I asked good friend and fellow photographer Jordi Saragossa and adventure journalist/ athlete Tobias Mews to work on behalf of iancorless.com at the 2016 edition of the race.

‘You’re first time in Turkey?’ the old man remarked in surprisingly good English, as I watched the sun behind Lake Iznik, the third largest lake in Turkey. The water was incredibly calm with not a ripple in sight, despite being 32kms long and 10kms wide. It was also mind blowingly beautiful, offering an unparalleled level of peace. I couldn’t help but wish I had a stone to skim along it’s smooth surface.

‘It is,’ I reply, although I was already silently vowing to return. As through thrilled with this fact and despite my protests, he offers me a cup of tea – not a cup of Earl Grey, but one of the Turkish variety. They drink the stuff by the gallon. Sipping away, I mused on the notion that I no idea how stunning this country was or how kind everyone is. Turkey, I would soon discover, is a truly magical place.

I’ve often said that if you’re going to put yourself through any degree of suffering during an ultra, and let’s face it, who doesn’t have a moment where they question their sanity, then you might as well do it somewhere beautiful. It’s a mantra that I’ve held to my core and to date, have not been left disappointed through my travels and races as an adventure journalist.

Rather embarrassingly, and perhaps to my shame, I’d not considered Turkey a running destination, which is perhaps why I’d never visited this ancient cradle of civilization. Too many lasminute.com cheap package holidays, slightly less than positive press, terrorist attacks and an unsettled political climate have not helped Turkey solidify its position in the ‘must visit’ destinations lists. But thanks to the likes of Caner Odabasoglu, the Race Director and founder of the Iznik Ultra, things are changing and running events are becoming more common place.

Indeed, when the Iznik Ultra launched in 2012, it was the second ultra to be established in the country. Now, there are three road three road marathons and seven ultras. It is, as he puts it, ‘booming at the moment’.

Since I first began running competitively, just under a decade ago, I’ve suffered a serious case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Perhaps due to the fact that I’m stubborn and a sucker for punishment, when faced with a choice of distances, I’ve always picked the furthest/hardest race on offer, especially if the race is named after this distance, such as Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc or Transvulcania. I want to get the full race experience, not just an excerpt. So, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I chose to take part in the 80k option as opposed to the main event.

Besides the main event, there are in fact four other races on offer – 5k, 15k, 50k, 80k – all of which follow parts of the full 130km course around the lake. Considering the course was actually 86kms with 2600m of ascent/descent, it is by no means a distance to be sniffed at and after all, still an ultra!

Keen to show buy support I made my way to the midnight start of the 130k event. After more than 200 races including dozens of ultras, I’m more than familiar with the shit that goes through your head as you toe the start line of a big race, especially one that begins in the middle of the night. But curiously enough on this occasion, I didn’t see the usual thousand-yard stare that you might expect to see from a runner as he or she prepares to run 136kms non-stop (it’s slightly further than the advertised 130k). Instead I saw smiles, laughter, lots of slapping on the back, hugs and the sort of banter you might expect to see at a running club Monday night fixture. The only thing that was missing was a lack of women (only five amongst the relatively small field of 63).

The race favourite, Aykut Çelikbas looked as cool as the proverbial cucumber as he chatted with his fellow Team Salomon Turkey runners, Faruk Kar and Elena Polyakov. Hardly surprising considering Aykut had competed in the previous four editions of the race, coming third last year. He’s also a two-time finisher of Spartathlon, so knows a thing or two about pushing the pain barrier.

And then, as just after the stroke of midnight, they were off, a luminous streak of smiles as a small army of intrepid ultra runners disappeared into the night. Feeling a mixture of sadness and guilt that I wasn’t amongst them, I trotted back to my hotel and went to bed, in preparation for my race, 9 hours later.

After a 45-minute bus ride to Orhangazi, a medium sized town situated in the Bursa province about half way around the lake, and a countdown from 10 in Turkish, we set off in pursuit of our 130k brethren. With a police escort to accompany us, a couple of Turkish competitors went off a little too fast before looking around and realising they were in the lead, sheepishly slowed down. Which left yours truly at the front.

Before the race, people had asked me what my expectations were. But with my wife recently having a child and moving house to the French Pyrenees, my training had temporarily taken a bit of a nose dive for worse. In fact, I’d even told my wife that I was doing the 50k, so she wouldn’t give me grief for doing one of the main events on next to no training.

Seeing that no one was willing to take the lead, I strode out at a 4.30 min/km pace, making the most of the 19kms of flat terrain. It follows a stretch of road out of Orhangazi before meeting the edge of the Lake Iznik and a sandy beach that brought back to me a a few memories of the Marathon des Sables. From the perspective of race tactics, it’s an opportunity to put some distance between you and your opponents. But go out too fast and you’ll later hit an 800-meter-high wall of pain and that later on in the race will come to bite you not just in the arse, but in your quads and calves.

Somewhat conscious that I might be going too fast, for the next 4 hours I steadily overtook around 30 odd runners from the 130km race, exchanging broken pleasantries in Turkish as I went. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt, watching a number of them hobble along in that all too familiar death march. I had come with no expectations of winning the race, but for a while I genuinely thought I had a chance.

However, any thoughts of podiums were far from my mind. I was simply reveling in the scenery as I ran through olive groves, along beaches, charming little villages before going high into the hills surrounding the lake, which offered panoramic views to die for.

But then, for the first time, I heard the the pitter patter of feet of Hasan Öztürk, who unbeknownst to me had been doggedly following me. With my two words of Turkish vocabulary and his non-existent English, conversation was brief as we trotted alongside each other, silently pushing one another slightly harder than we’d have liked.

That’s of course the problem with being out front, and what I imagined Aykut and Faruk were going through. They had decided to run together and hold on to the lead. But lovely though it is to be out front, you simply don’t know how fast your pursuers are going – so you push on harder than might be wise.

Until now, the terrain had been very runnable. But new to 2016, Caner had inserted in a rather technical and simultaneously hilly section smack in the middle of the 80k and about 87k into the main event. Very steep descents which often involved hanging onto tree routes and branches slowed us all down, less for the odd mountain goat. Some might say it was too difficult (it added a minimum of two hours on to most people’s time), but I think it was bloody marvelous, even though I was cursing at the time.

The checkpoints are spaced between 10 and 15k apart – about right for a course of this nature. As to be expected, they were a welcome reprieve and a chance to fill our water bottles, as the warm sun was thirsty work. It was during one of these moments that I noticed third place man, Mehmet Yildirim catching me up.

Cutting short my replen, I hobbled off and spent the next 20kms looking over my shoulder like a man being chased. Just shy of 10kms from the finish, my legs began to object and I regrettably waved Mehmet on with a ‘bravo’. Unbeknown to me, a similar situation had happened several hours early in the main event, where Aykut and Faruk separated. Aykut maintained the lead, finishing in 17hrs 10mins, leaving Mehmet Arslan to claim second place in 17hrs 30 and Faruk third, 18 minutes later.

As I arrived into Iznik I felt like a warrior returning from war. Covered in dust but grinning from ear to ear, I must have looked a strange sight to the Iznik locals who had come to watch the runners roll in. Knowing that I didn’t have long left, I picked up the pace, even though I was way over what the time I estimated it would take me to run 86kms to cross the finish line 3 seconds shy of ten and a half hours and a full 55 minutes behind Hasan who’d I’d not seen again.

After collecting one of the most fabulous medals I’ve ever seen, a locally made ceramic tile, I made my way back to the edge of the lake I had been standing at almost 24hours previously. Digging into my pocket, I picked out a smooth pedal I’d found in a river bed, and with my last remaining energy, skimmed it along the still smooth waters, trying to count how the bounces. The old man, who I’d seen yesterday, was still here and shuffled over to me.

‘What do you think? You like?’ he asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“The simple act of running, placing one foot in-front of the other as a method of transport takes us back to our roots, our basic instincts. In search of a place to sleep, to hunt for food; it is about being in the wild, surviving and fulfilling a primal need.”

The 2015 edition of the race was an incredible, mind-blowing journey but in 2016, the race goes one step further and becomes ‘Transfrontier.’ The race will now pass over the Orange River and in to Namibia.

Known as one of the most scenic and unique trail running stage race events on the South African trail running calendar the Richtersveld Wildrun™ takes a new direction and in doing so become a cross-border trail running event; a worlds first! Extending to a linear 200km race, the five day crossing from South Africa to Namibia goes through the heart of the stunning /Ai/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have unlocked a truly unique opportunity to experience both sides of such a unique and powerful place – and to finish a long day at a natural hot springs in the middle of the wilderness is unbelievable!”said Owen Middleton,” MD of Wildrunner, the events company behind the Wildrun™ events.

Tobias Mews, The Dragon’s Back Race 2015.

Including the Vyf Susters, Hellskloof Pass, Armmanshoek, the Tswayisberge, Springbokvlakte and the iconic Tatasberg boulders, the new route will maintain the best of the first three days of the original edition but on day 4, the route will veer of its original course and cross the Orange River at De Hoop into Namibia. Yes, the race will go into the untouched southern section of the Fish River Canyon made famous by Ryan Sandes.

It’s no easy addition to the race, runners will need to cover 50km into a wilderness that is completely inaccessible by vehicle. Rich in wildlife, runners will have a once in a lifetime experience with a possibility of seeing Hartmann’s mountain zebra, kudu, gemsbok, springbok, Namibian wild horses and giraffe. It’s the race of a lifetime!

Tobia Mews is no stranger to incredible races, his recent book release called ’50 Race To Run Before You Die’ looks like it will need a new chapter, 51 Races…

“I am so looking forward to this race. For me it’s the epitome of adventure running wrapped up in one of the most stunning places on earth. And it’s partly Ian Corless‘s fault for producing such amazing photos from last year.”– Tobias Mews

After a long, tough day in Namibia, runners will spend the evening in a canyon at a natural hot spring, before taking on the final day of roughly 25km to finish at the /Ai-/Ais Hot Springs Resort and wrap up a powerful and truly unique experience.

Roland Vorwerk, marketing manager of Boundless Southern Africa, one of the driving forces behind the success of the event, said they are very happy to support this new cross-border trail running event.

“This new route contains even more highlights than the original Richtersveld Wildrun™, and promises to give participants a challenging but spectacular trail running experience.”

This weeks show honours the injured and fallen at Boston Marathon. We have daily chat from the Marathon des Sables (Tobias Mews, Danny Kendall and Stuart Rae) bivouac and interviews with top placed Brits, Danny Kendall and Jo Meek. We interview Arc’teryx athlete, Adam Campbell. We discuss Mojo in Talk Training with Niandi Carmont, we have ‘A year in the life of…’ a Blog, Speedgoat, the News and ‘Up & Coming Races’.

00:00:44 Start

00:18:40 A year in the life of… with Amanda Hyatt. Amanda has been struggling with training and recently run the Brighton Marathon.

00:29:30 News from around the ultra world

00:35:40 MDS special from the bivouac with chat from Stuart Rae, Danny Kendall and Stuart Rae.

01:11:55 Back to the news

01:18:45 MDS special – after 28 editions of the race, Danny Kendall has surpassed James Cracknell and is now the highest ever placed Brit in the race.

01:35:40 MDS special – Jo Meek entered the MDS several years ago and in 2012 got the nod that 2013 would be the year. With no experience of multi day racing, Jo wanted to finish the race but also perform to the best of her ability – she made the podium in 2nd place!

01:55:30 Talk Training – have you lost your Mojo? We discuss ways to get your mojo back with Niandi Carmont.

02:03:10 Interview – with Arc’teryx athlete Adam Campbell as he prepares for the 2013 season.

A former member of the Canadian National Triathlon and Duathlon teams, in 2006 Adam decided to shed the extra gear and rely solely on his running shoes to get around. He also decided to put down the stopwatch and set intervals and hit the trails.

Adam’s love for running began on the beaches of West Africa and Spain, where he spent his childhood running after soccer balls and chasing waves. It wasn’t until he moved to Canada in his late teens that he began running competitively. Adam’s love for all individual athletic challenges quickly saw him jump into the multi-sport world of triathlons and duathlons where he was renown for his running ability, which saw him win a national duathlon title.

However the drudgery and structure of training and racing for triathlons caught up with him and he began to seek out new challenges. After running the roads for a year, he jumped into his first trail race in 2007 and a new love was born. Adam qualified for the Canadian Mountain Running Team in his first trail race and continued to post the best ever finish by a Canadian at a Mountain Running World Championship at the Jungfrau Marathon, a gruelling 42k uphill run with 6000ft elevation gain from start to finish.

His running goals are to seek out interesting challenges in inspiring settings. A lifelong traveler and racer, Adam’s new belief is: if you are going to be suffering, you might as well suffer somewhere beautiful!

Speedgoat makes it no35 out of 60 at Antelope 100… We speak to Richard Bowles who is about to embark on another journey! We have an extended Talk Training with Dr Phil Maffetone. We catch up with Mike Wardian on how his recovery and racing is shaping up. We have a ‘Year in the life of‘, the last episode of our ‘MDS‘ build up, 15 mins of Fame with Tony Di Giovani, the News, Up and Coming Races and a Meltzer Moment.

Show Notes:

00:00:45 Start

00:17:15 Mike Wardian we catch up with TNF athlete Mike Wardian as he gets back into training and racing after a series of injuries.

00:28:25 Back to Karl

00:31:30 A Year in the life of – Tyler has just run a 50km and is now preparing for a 70 miler.

00:38:40 News from around the ultra world

00:53:15 MDS special – as you listen to this we will be in Morocco for the 2013 Marathon des Sables. This episode we catch up with Tobias Mews. You can read a 2013 Race PreviewHERE and an interview with Race Director, Patrick Bauer HERE.

01:07:20 Blog – Ellie Greenwood -I know we have had Ellie Greenwoods blog on the show before but just recently she ran Two Oceans in South Africa as she prepares for Comrades. Many think that ultras are about running slow and comfortable pace… Ellie confirms it’s not! Speed matters – HERE

01:10:05 Talk Training – Dr Phil Maffetone Please check on iancorless.com for an article that will coincide with this podcast HERE

01:49:10 Interview with Richard Bowles. Richard has a taste for adventure and running a long way… check out his website HEREyou can also read about his next adventure HERE

02:20:20 Meltzer Moment

02:23:15 15 min of Fame with Tony Di Giovani – I met Tony (and his friends) at The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica. He has an inspiring story…